Reborn
by Sullyhogs1
Summary: From darkness and death, light always prevails. A wizard is tested, an Empire is threatened, and a new hope is found. Please, feel free to read this story and tell me what you think about it, I'd very much like to hear your opinions and suggestions. Out of all of the fan fiction stories I've written, this is definitely my favorite.
1. Whispers in the Void

**Reborn: Whispers in the Void  
**

The figure was no more. His form had passed, and his soul became shriveled and wary, yet this meant not that he was dead and gone. Instead, within the wariness, there was renewal, and through this renewal, there was manifestation. With the passing of one form came the creation of the next, for the figure's quest was not accomplished just yet. The old soul could only hear voices at that point; grievances, fond memories, and the orders that were given to him long, long ago. For some time, the figure could only witness the images presented to him throughout his long, eventful past, but soon, he began to hear three names being whispered to him, which repeated in his mind and throughout the rest of the Void.

" _Olórin_."

" _Mithrandir_."

" _Gandalf_."

The figure was once known by a great many as Gandalf the Grey, but that time was over. He at that point needed no name, just a shape. A shapeless form was not very useful for most beings in such troubled times, for a war had started. Heroes, armed to the teeth, were fighting against an unseen evil. A ring to dominate all others. A darkness.

" _There is no darkness here_ ," whispered another shapeless form. " _My presence is too great for corruption. Throughout your trials in your previous life, you have come to know me better. I am Eru, who for some, is called Ilúvatar,_ _and you are a wise and trusted being. You have faced evil and you have defeated its forces many times. You now only have one final test_."

The word 'test' repeated in the figure's mind for what seemed like forever, and then there was slumber. Life was motionless for the figure, and there was only the Void, until the sound of water was heard. A sensation was felt at the same time. A rag. Then suddenly, a voice was heard.

"Are you there, friend? Can you hear me?"

At this point, he realized that he had a now manifested body. Sniffing and breathing sensations were felt at the same time, and as he opened his eyes, the wizard realized that they were not adjusted to the light. He shielded his eyes, which quickly grew accustomed to the environment. What Gandalf saw then was something that he would never forget for as long as he lived. A man, dressed in brown and white robes, sat before the now-reborn Gandalf. The old man had a short, bushy white beard and a lived-in face. Gandalf could tell, in an instant that this man had seen many things. When the old man saw the wizard awaken, he was shocked, but also a bit relieved. "You look weary, friend. Try your best to stay calm."

Gandalf could barely hear, but that sense quickly returned to him. "This place seems… unfamiliar," said Gandalf. "Where are we, and who are you?"

"This is my home," the old man answered. "And you're lucky to be alive. I found you nearly lifeless, not but a few miles west of here. Now, I'm not one for medicinal knowledge, but based on practical thought, I can tell that you'll be alright, you just need some rest."

The old wizard sat up, looking around to see if he could find anything that was slightly orthodox, but he was all but unsuccessful. The room bore shades of white and brown. A short table was placed somewhat across the room, and an old, wooden chest lay beyond it. Old trinkets and tools were scattered throughout the room. Gandalf looked back at the old man, seeing that he resembled Gandalf the Grey, in a sense.

"People around here call me Old Ben. What of yourself?" said the old man, as he sat back, stroking his beard.

Gandalf began to remember the voices that spoke to him in the shapeless Void. He was given a new epithet upon his resurrection. The wizard remembered a phrase that was said to him by a figure in the Void: " _What once was Grey, will now forever be White_."

" _White_ ," he thought. Gandalf then spoke to Ben with reluctance, for he didn't want anyone to know too much about his past.

"Where I traveled, and where I lived… they called me Gandalf the Grey, but now… I am Grey no more," said the wizard to the old man.

"Oh?" Old Ben responded, in question.

"I remain Gandalf, but now as Gandalf the White."

"A strange name, I might add," Ben remarked, as he quickly changed his expression to that of an unprepared and somewhat worried one. "Oh, no!"

"Whatever is the matter?" replied Gandalf. Old Ben rushed out the door quickly, putting up his hood, in the process. He popped his head back in shortly thereafter to inform Gandalf of something.

"Get some rest," panted the old man. "I've got some dire business to attend to."

The old man left, leaving Gandalf alone. "What a queer fellow," Gandalf said under his breath.

"I _heard_ that!" shouted Old Ben, as he walked further away. Gandalf chuckled quickly, then fell back into the land of slumber.

" _You are no finished, yet,_ " a voice in Gandalf's mind whispered. " _Be still, for this is your final test of will. I must leave you, now. My presence in this universe cannot be any more apparent, for I must return to the Void, to watch over Eä. Do not be weary, Olórin, for you are strong. You are not alone. You are never alone, for now, you must trust the Force._ "


	2. Revelation of the Force

**Reborn: Revelation of the Force**

Gandalf did not know where he was. He did not know what he had to do, and he did not know who the old man was.

" _The Force..._ "

That term repeated in Gandalf's mind. After sporadically waking up and falling back to sleep over the course of a short period, Gandalf felt fully well, and he sat up from his laying position.

"The Force," Gandalf muttered to himself. "I'll have to learn of what that presence is."

As Gandalf sat up, Old Ben sighed a breath of relief as he came through his front door, followed by a young man and two strange figures, one gold and one with blue and white patterns. To Gandalf, they seemed metallic. "Ah… you're well, friend. Please, make yourself at home."

"Who's this?" the young man asked as he sat next to Old Ben. Gandalf stood up awkwardly, but then attained good posture.

"Gandalf," said the wizard. The young, blonde man looked up at the tall man with a naïve expression. "What of you?"

"My name's Luke Skywalker," the young man claimed. As he did this, the golden man came up to Gandalf, who was quite stunned by the figure. His mouth didn't move, and he seemed to walk in a very odd manner.

"Hello, sir!" exclaimed the figure. "I am See Threepio, human-cyborg relations!"

The other figure in blue and white whistled over to him, in what seemed like anger.

"I was just about to introduce you, you bumbling idiot!" shouted Threepio as he looked over to the other figure. "That droid over there is Artoo Deetoo. If he comes off as rude, just pay him no mind."

At this point, Gandalf was shocked stiff. Before this moment occurred, Gandalf had thought he was just in some strange area east of Rhûn, but he was sorely mistaken. He knew now that he was not in the world he once knew, but he did not know the standards that this world lived by. He looked the group with a stunned expression as he sat back down for a moment. Threepio went over to the corner to Luke's left and sat, complaining about his malfunctioning arm.

"I… do not know where I am, and I need to know," Gandalf stated. "I feel lost... and yet, I feel new."

"Gandalf, I told you earlier, you're in my home. Rest easy, friend," replied Old Ben.

"Do you remember what planet you came here, from?" asked Luke, sitting in a chair to the left of Obi-Wan. Gandalf looked at him in confusion.

"Planet? What do you mean?" Gandalf asked in reply. At this, Old Ban sat back and stroked his bushy beard.

"Hmm… you must've hit your head harder than I thought," the old man said, in speculation.

"In what way? I don't ever remember such a thing," answered Gandalf. He then stood up and walked over to Old Ben, sitting to his right. "I do not wish to tell you everything… but, you might be in use of some information… my name is Gandalf, as I've told you. I come from a land that is far different from this one."

When Gandalf said this, Luke's eyes were filled with excitement. He had stayed in the same place for his entire life, and he was consistently refused any opportunities to leave. One could imagine what he thought of this instance.

"I am from a land called Middle-Earth, and there, I am referred to as a wizard, a wise man, and a wanderer. I cannot say more. Things may be revealed to you in time, but I wish to make acquaintance with this world and its inhabitants."

Old Ben looked at Gandalf, with a sort of all-seeing look, but still with a hand on his beard, stroking it in complete concentration. "Ah… I see, a man of mystery. I can sympathize, my friend."

Luke, scooting himself over to Threepio when looking at the droid's broken arm, began to repair it. "Well, of all the planets in the galaxy, you came to the worst one. Gangsters, smugglers, bounty hunters… this is their sweet spot, alright."

"So there are other worlds? Worlds that can be reached?" Gandalf asked in response to Luke.

"Yessir," the boy responded, cleaning off the droid. "How isolated was your world, anyways? You didn't even know how to fly?"

Gandalf remembered back to the days in his previous life. He remembered how the Eagles of Manwë rescued him from danger countless times. "Oh, we could fly alright. There were Eagles who rescued me from harm many, many times."

"Well, here we fly in ships from world to world, but it's dangerous, now. It's been dangerous ever since the Clone Wars," Luke mentioned to Gandalf, still repairing the droid's arm. Old Ben looked to him in reminiscence.

"Ah, yes," Ben said as he sat thinking. "Your father would've hated what's going on, nowadays. That conflict gave him the opportunity he needed to be a great pilot."

"No," corrected Luke as he kept to his task. "My father didn't fight in the wars. He was a navigator on a spice freighter."

Gandalf was just becoming more and more accustomed to these terms, but tried to pay them no mind. Old Ben looked at Luke in a corrective manner.

"That's what your uncle told you," he said, as Gandalf looked to him. "He didn't hold with your father's ideals. Thought he should've stayed here and not gotten involved."

"And what's the matter with that?" the wizard asked. "I've advised many people to do just that."

"And I have as well," Ben agreed, as Luke looked back in acknowledgement. "But in this situation, his participation was necessary, for both myself and the Republic. It wouldn't be the same fighting without him."

"You fought in the Clone Wars?" asked the young man in excitement. Obi-Wan answered patiently, but with regard to Luke's excitement.

"Yes," he said, with a knowing face. "I was once a Jedi Knight, the same as your father."

At this, Gandalf was intrigued. He wished to know what a 'Jedi Knight' was, but he did not wish to interrupt. Things would be revealed to him in due time.

"I wish I'd known him," said Luke, a tad disappointed. Old Ben then gave him a knowing face and began to explain more.

"He was the best star pilot in the galaxy, and a cunning warrior," he said as he looked at Luke in praise. "I understand you've become quite a good pilot yourself."

Luke nodded to Ben, as the old man looked slightly up, remembering Luke's father.

"And, he was a good friend, which reminds me... I have something here for you."

Gandalf was heartened by this. He had many friends over the course of time, both lost and still remaining, and he longed for their safety. Ben realized he had forgotten something, and got up to search through his old wooden chest. While he was doing this, Luke began to put the restraining bolt back on the golden droid, though he suddenly thought against it, to Threepio's reluctance. He continued to complete his task, working on and off.

"What are you doing, lad?" asked Gandalf.

"Oh, just fixing up his arm. We were in a tough situation earlier today, and Ben over there helped us out," Luke explained. "He scared off all the sand people."

"Sand people?" Gandalf asked.

"Yeah," responded Luke. "The Tusken Raiders. They're savages that dominate the Dune Sea. I was lucky to make it out alive. Hey, Ben, what're you looking for over there?"

Old Ben, finally finding what he was looking for, pulled out a small handle with a few electronic attachments.

"Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough," he said, cleaning the tool. "But your uncle wouldn't allow it. He figured you might follow old Obi-Wan on some damned fool-idealistic crusade like your father did."

At this, Gandalf turned and questioned the old man. "Who might that be?"

"Who, Obi-Wan?" Ben asked back. "That's me. I was once known as Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, of the Jedi Order. Didn't you say you once had a different name, Gandalf?"

"I have been called many a name in my time, and Gandalf is one of them," claimed the wizard. "So yes, I see your point."

"Sir," said Threepio to Luke. "If you won't be needing me, I'll close down for a while."

"Sure go ahead," Luke responded, immediately. He then stood up as Obi-Wan handed him the handle. Luke looked at it in awe, and Gandalf, too, felt a great amount of intrigue in the object, and examined it with his eyes. "What is it?"

"Your father's lightsaber," answered Kenobi to the young man. "This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy and as random as a blaster."

As the old man said this, Luke pressed a button on the side of the weapon, sending a glowing, blue light out of the hilt, which made the weapon resemble a sword. This, more than anything he had seen previously, stunned Gandalf, and not because the weapon was unknown to him, but because it reminded him of something else.

" _A sword that glows blue_ ," the wizard thought. " _Now where have I seen that before?_ "

Gandalf was reminded of the two brave hobbits, the Baggins, that aided him on his journeys, in a time that felt like it was ages ago. He wanted to go back and help save the people he knew and loved, but he remembered his test, which seemed all but unknown to him as of yet. While Gandalf sat, deep in thought, Luke Skywalker wove the blade 'round and 'round, appearing to be filled with wonder at the mere sight of it.

"Very interesting," added Gandalf. "I've never seen anything quite like it."

"No-one seems to, anymore," acknowledged Obi-Wan. "This is an elegant weapon, for a more civilized age."

Obi-Wan sat next to Gandalf as Luke continued to wave the sword around. He knew the time had come for both Gandalf and young Luke to know fully about the Jedi, and he began to inform them. "For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times… before the Empire."

"The Empire, you say?" Gandalf asked.

"They're the regime that terrorizes the galaxy. Only lately have uprisings began. I can tell when I go into towns now and again," explained the Jedi, as Luke shut off his weapon and took a seat next to Obi-Wan. "And they're growing in number."

"Those Imperials," Luke said, addressing his statement towards Gandalf. "They're monsters. They only like to punish and terrorize everyone with authority."

"I can understand. They must be quite ruthless," the wizard said, in agreement. After a short moment of silence, Luke decided to change the subject.

"How did my father die?" Luke asked. Obi-Wan, with great reluctance, decided to tell him the story.

"A young Jedi named Darth Vader, who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil, helped the Empire hunt down and murder the Jedi Knights," explained Obi-Wan, while Gandalf and Luke listened, sadly. "He betrayed and murdered you father. Now the Jedi are all but extinct. Vader was seduced by the Dark Side of the Force."

Gandalf's eyes widened, and images began to spur around in his mind. All else he heard from the others sounded only of echoes, and they played into the images in his mind. Luke's voice provided an image of a candle, not yet lit.

" _The Force?_ " called out Luke's voice. Every time the wizard heard the voice of Obi-Wan, it felt as if the images in his head grew even more vivid.

" _Well the Force is what gives a Jedi his power_ ," proclaimed the voice of Obi-Wan. The last word stuck out to Gandalf the most. It repeated once. " _It's an energy field, created by all living things._ "

Gandalf saw a group of multiple different beings, sitting calmly and patiently in a circle, in what appeared to be an old chamber. He then heard another voice, one much more raspy and older than Obi-Wan's. " _It's energy..._ "

He then heard Obi-Wan's voice again, accompanied by another image. " _It surrounds us_."

This image was of a little green man. His pointy ears and short stature stuck out to Gandalf. The other voice repeated what Obi-Wan had said. " _Surrounds us_."

" _And penetrates us_ ," continued Obi-Wan's voice. Another image appeared quickly to Gandalf, but only for a short moment. It was a young man, with long, brown hair. He was very tall, and had a scar across his left eye. He bore an angry sort of look, as he was surrounded by fire and lava. " _It binds the galaxy together_."

The other voice called out once more, followed by complete darkness.

" _And binds us_ ," said the voice. Then came silence. After a few moments, the voice of Ilúvatar called out to Gandalf.

" _The circle is broken. You must help repair it. That is your task_ ," claimed Eru. " _May the Force be with you, Olórin_."


	3. A Hive of Villainy

**Reborn: A Hive of Villainy**

The vision that Gandalf witnessed did not hinder his consciousness. While young Luke and Obi-Wan talked about a strange hologram that Artoo projected, Gandalf thought more and more about the Force, until he was brought out of his trance by a question, coming from Obi-Wan. The old man gave Gandalf a strange look, but then realized what he was doing.

" _The man is from another world,_ " Obi-Wan thought, quickly. " _He has to know what he's capable of._ "

Gandalf looked at him in slight confusion. "What do I think about the situation, you ask? Well, I haven't any sort of idea at the moment."

"I can only imagine how strange your journey has been, friend," Old Ben assumed, with empathy and after a short moment of thought. "Gandalf, I must go to the planet Alderaan, in order to seek council with an old friend of mine on the state of the Rebellion, and you might need to come with me. I don't wish to leave you alone here in the middle of the Jundland Wastes, without any knowledge of the terrain or lay of the land. "

"Yes," nodded Gandalf, in agreement. "These lands are unknown to me, and it would be helpful if I were to traverse them with someone that I've at the least made an acquaintance with."

"Good, then it's settled," Obi-Wan stated with a firm tone as he looked over to Luke. "We leave as soon as you're ready, my boy. The rest of my belongings don't matter anymore. I'm leaving this planet behind, forever. I strongly advise that you come with us, and learn about the Force."

The poor young man, saddened, knew that his uncle, Owen Lars, wouldn't let him leave this planet with the old man in a million years. Owen, for some reason, couldn't stand the recluse, and found him to be a bad influence on his growing nephew. Luke wanted to leave the planet so much, and he knew he'd be blowing a big opportunity if he didn't follow Obi-Wan and Gandalf, but he also knew how smart his uncle was. The young man was convinced that Owen could find Luke anywhere, even if it were in the most isolated system in the galaxy. No matter where it was, Owen would grab Luke by his shirt and drag him back to the old moisture farm to help him with the farming for another cycle. In fact, Luke was surprised that his uncle hadn't done that already. It was almost halfway through the day, and there was no sign of Owen. Typically, if Luke was gone for even an hour at any time before mid-day, Owen would go out looking for him and eventually find him within half that time. Obi-Wan looked at the young man for some agreement, but Luke could only appease the old man.

"Look, I can take you as far as Anchorhead," sighed Luke. "You can get a transport there to Mos Eisley, or wherever you're going."

"You must do what you feel is right, of course," Obi-Wan responded, sadly. "I'm ready to leave whenever you are, Luke."

Luke soon woke up Threepio and got both droids into his landspeeder, but before the group left, Obi-Wan wanted to have a word with Gandalf, and as Luke prepared for the ride to Anchorhead, the two old men sat in Ob-Wan's old, soon-to-be abandoned house, discussing the Force.

"I know what you just saw, my friend," claimed Obi-Wan, to the confusion of Gandalf. "You just interacted with the Force in a manner that normal individuals don't."

Gandalf, looking stunned at the old man, was speechless. How Obi-Wan felt the presence of Gandalf's Force vision, the wizard knew not. "I honestly don't know how you saw what was happening in my head. You were actually able to witness my vision?"

"I didn't witness your experience," Obi-Wan claimed, in response. "I stimulated it. I was the catalyst that helped you understand what the Force is. Tell me, Gandalf... why do you think you're here?"

"What do you mean?" Gandalf asked. "I was from another world, as I said, and I was sent here as a test."

"My apologies," replied Obi-Wan. "I meant to ask you why you think you're in my house. Do you think that I find random strangers out in the middle of the desert, bring them back here, and nurse them back to health on a regular basis?"

"Well, I…"

"No, I doubt," continued the Jedi. "I have neither the experience nor the resources to do such things. I'm not a medical genius, Gandalf. I brought you back here because I felt a great presence within you... something I hadn't felt in years. Not since the last time I saw the Grand Master, himself, did I feel such a strong presence in the Force, and I didn't want that presence to be corrupted."

"You're meaning to say that I can use the Force?" the wizard asked.

"Yes," Kenobi replied. "You have the potential to become a great Jedi, Gandalf. In your vision, did you see the circle, and the candle?"

Gandalf was able to recollect that vision, and take in what he saw. "Yes, I saw them. What do they mean?"

"The circle represents the Jedi Council. Many years ago, we discussed everything together, in complete solidarity. All matters of the Force were brought up there. The Council was where we brought our energy together, in order to create a calm and unifying experience in the Force."

"And what of the candle?" asked Gandalf, with many more questions still in his mind.

"Ah, now that has to do with the events that will hopefully play out soon," Obi-Wan stated. "You will learn all this when you're ready, my friend. For now, we'll have to leave."

"Obi-Wan, this is not my first time working with a higher power. I hope you know that. In my world… in Middle-Earth, I served a being called the All-Father, or Eru, as some called him. Through him, I was made, and through him, I gained wisdom," Gandalf explained, as Obi-Wan stood up, ready to leave.

"You seem very wise, and very experienced, and it would be a lost opportunity if you were to be corrupted by the Dark Side of the Force, which you'll learn about soon enough," responded Ob-Wan. Gandalf stood up and followed the old Jedi, who was much shorter than he, but with just as much wisdom in his stature. When leaving the house, Gandalf noticed the wide, rocky desert that surrounded him. The landscape, the strange vehicle that floated over the hot, dusty sand before the group, and the two peculiar droids that sat in the back of the vehicle all made Gandalf feel unorthodox about the realm that he was placed in. The group got on the landspeeder as Luke finished checking all of the rations he still had, since the trip from the Dune Sea to the town of Anchorhead could turn out to be a long and arduous one if all of the needed materials weren't acknowledged. The young man, taking one last check of his vehicle, hopped in and started up the engines. The sound of the motor hurt Gandalf's ears, as he wasn't accustomed to how advanced the technology was in these worlds. Luke, looking back to Gandalf with excitement, mistook the wizard's negative reaction to the speeder for a positive one.

"I know!" Luke yelled, happily. "She can really sing, can't she?"

"I don't think he can hear you," Obi-Wan stated, with a hand on Luke's shoulder. "Best to leave him be, for now."

Luke nodded to him in agreement and focused on the terrain in front of him. Luke, like his father before him, excelled at vehicular operation, flying, driving, and maintenance with machines, in general. One could say it was a trait of the Skywalker family, and Luke really knew how to stimulate praise from the rest of his friends, because of it. As he was driving along, the young man saw a few T-16's flying overhead, probably heading towards Beggar's Canyon. He pointed toward the airspeeders and started talking to Obi-Wan about them, as the engine on the vehicle gradually became quieter. Luke wanted to keep up the conversation with the old man, before he said his last goodbyes.

"Those Skyhoppers up there are top-of-the-line, Ben," explained Skywalker, as Obi-Wan looked up at the vehicles. "I've found a way to modify mine when I get it back up and running, again. I can imagine you remember what happened to it."

"Oh, yes, the time where you flew it through the Canyon and almost got yourself killed?" Obi-Wan responded, quickly. This irritated Luke, for a moment, but he remembered that Obi-Wan offered to give young Luke the much-needed parts to repair it, to the denial of his uncle, of course.

"Hah! You still wanted to help me out, old-timer, and I can't say that I'm not thankful you tried. Once I get that baby fixed up and overhauled, she'll be able to get back at those bucketheads for hogging my game while I was out of the business," chuckled Luke, while Obi-Wan looked at him in distress.

"My boy, that's dangerous! You know how powerful those blasters are, they'll shoot you right out of the sky!" Old Ben warned, as he realized what he was saying. "Oh, look at me, I'm sounding just like your uncle. He has a point, though, Luke. You've got to look out for your own safety. I've no doubt in my mind that you've some toughness in you, lad, but even the strongest of us fall. I've seen it happen, before, and it's horrifying."

When Gandalf heard this, he remembered the young man in the vision he had, the one with the scar on his eye. He then remembered the history of his own world, and how the One Ring corrupted a very good man. Isildur, who bore the One Ring directly after the Dark Lord, was a good, kind-hearted, and loyal man, and a strong warrior, but even he succumbed to the power of the Enemy. Even Melkor, strongest of the Ainur, was corrupted by his own wishes. Even the powerful Gandalf the Grey fell in battle.

"All too true," added the wizard, as Obi-Wan looked back at him. Luke, understanding the point, addressed a statement to the blue droid.

"Artoo, what've we got comin' up, here?" the young man asked. The droid beeped and whistled, with Threepio chiming into the conversation.

"Artoo says that the town of Anchorhead is still a good distance away, but there is a Sandcrawler just up ahead," Threepio explained. "If I were you sir, I'd check there for supplies we might need for the journey home."

"Good idea," Luke concluded, noticing the giant Sandcrawler about a mile or two up ahead. "Ben, I'll have to make a stop up here to see what the Jawas might have that I need."

"I don't remember ever seeing a transport so large," speculated Gandalf, looking at the ship with amazement. "What sort of supplies are held there?"

"Oh, just simple things," answered Luke, as Obi-Wan looked at the motionless transport vessel with distraught feelings. "Spare parts, food rations, some basic weapons, and a few droids. Nothing special, but the trip home from Anchorhead isn't gonna be short, that's for sure."

"Luke, I'll come out with you, there's something not quite right about the area up ahead," Obi-Wan said, to Luke's confusion. The speeder approached the large transport vehicle, which, when looked upon at a closer distance, looked to be raided. Weapons and bodies lay on the desert terrain that surrounded the Sandcrawler, and that led the two to speculate about how all this happened. Gandalf, too, exited the landspeeder, looking at all the junk that lay around on the ground.

"It looks like sandpeople did this, all right," speculated Luke, as he pointed to the different objects and clues that were scattered around the area. "Look, here are Gaffi sticks… Bantha tracks. It's just… I've never heard of them hitting anything this big before."

Obi-Wan crouched and looked at the tracks, realizing that the clues spread out around the Sandcrawler were misleading. "They didn't, but we're meant to think they did."

"In what way?" Gandalf responded. Obi-Wan pointed to the tracks and examined them further.

"These tracks are side by side," he explained. "Sandpeople always ride in single file to hide their numbers."

"These are the same Jawas that sold us Artoo and Threepio!" Luke realized. Obi-Wan looked at the Sandcrawler and noticed blast marks on the side of it. He went over to the vessel and examined them further.

"And these blast points… too accurate for sandpeople," noted the old Jedi as he inspected the area. "Only Imperial stormtroopers are so precise."

"These creatures look like they were nearly mutilated," Gandalf added, as he examined the bodies. "I can tell that this was a bloodbath."

"Why would Imperial troops want to slaughter Jawas?" wondered Luke.

"Whoever came by here must have wanted a heavy ransom," Gandalf explained. "Much like the villainous Orc grunts of my world, their motives become even more deadly than normal when they're after something of a greater importance."

At this remark, Luke realized what the wizard meant. He looked back at the dead bodies of the Jawas and then over to the droids, who were now inspecting another area filled with small corpses of the hooded natives of Tatooine. With a sudden expression of fear, the young man began to put two and two together, as Obi-Wan and Gandalf looked to him with sullen faces.

"If they traced the droids here, they may have learned who they sold them to," deducted Luke, who uneasily was able to reach a final, terrible solution. "And that would lead them… home!"

With a horrified expression, Luke sprinted over to the speeder and quickly fired up the engine as Gandalf and Obi-Wan attempted to stop the young man before it was too late. Obi-Wan, in particular, was worried about the situation at hand. He called to Luke, who flew the X-34 landspeeder away as quickly as he could. The vehicle sped off with its owner, heading in the direction of Luke's homestead. Obi-Wan looked at Gandalf with a frustrated expression, hoping to get some solidarity, while the wizard looked even more stunned.

"That boy is going to get himself killed," Kenobi panted, as he and Gandalf started to pile up the Jawa corpses in order to burn them together. "At least he won't be long. His homestead isn't far from here."

Threepio shortened his distance to Artoo in order for him to whisper a comment on the situation to his old friend. "I think he's doomed."

After a short while, the group finished their task, and with the help of Artoo's tools, they were able to burn the bodies above a makeshift pyre. Soon afterwards, Luke returned to them with a sad, but knowing expression. The young man explained that the Empire had killed his aunt and uncle, and because of this, he had no place on this planet anymore. So, he took up Obi-Wan's noble offer of adventure, and the group changed their destination to the closer destination of Mos Eisley, as Luke didn't want to waste money on a transport in Anchorhead. After a short detour, the group were able to get to the town in one piece, and when they arrived at the outskirts of town, they looked down at the Imperial-occupied settlement.

"Mos Eisley Spaceport – You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy," Obi-Wan noted. The group came into town on Luke's speeder, and were stopped by an Imperial garrison, who were checking everyone's papers and belongings, so they might find a couple of runaway droids. Luke felt uneasy, because he knew that the troopers would recognize Artoo and See Threepio, and take them so that the vital information hidden in Artoo would belong to the Empire. A stormtrooper came up to the group, making this the first time Gandalf had ever seen one of those white, armored scoundrels, and the wizard was horrified.

" _A faceless army?_ " Gandalf thought, in question. " _What a terrible way to enforce the law onto innocents_."

The stormtrooper asked about Luke's droids, which were vouched for by the young man, but the Imperials wouldn't have it.

"Let me see your identification," the stormtrooper ordered. Luke, desperate to find his ID, rummaged around his belongings, but Obi-Wan had other plans. The old man, sitting next to Luke, wove his hand in the air slightly and addressed the stormtrooper with a calm, controlled voice.

"You don't need to see his identification," the Jedi stated. It was at this moment that Gandalf felt a presence coming off of Obi-Wan, a presence that felt like it was the Jedi's willpower.

"We don't need to see his identification," the stormtrooper said, in response. Gandalf and Luke were both completely stunned by this.

"These aren't the droids you're looking for," said Obi-Wan to the stormtrooper. Luke looked back at Gandalf for some knowledge of what was going on, but the wizard knew little about it, either.

"These aren't the droids we're looking for," said the stormtrooper. Again, Luke was stunned by this, and so was Gandalf.

"He can go about his business," Obi-Wan continued.

"You can go about your business," stated the trooper. Obi-Wan then looked at Luke with a sort of commanding expression.

"Move along," ordered Obi-Wan. The stormtrooper then motioned for the speeder to pass, with a wave of his hand. The speeder went on its way, and Gandalf had to figure out what happened.

"Obi-Wan, what in the world did you just do?" asked the wizard. Obi-Wan, with a face that looked as if it were trying to avoid attention, responded quietly, for there were still stormtroopers around.

"Best not to talk about it. You'll learn in due time."

" _The Force, perhaps?_ " Gandalf thought. The old wizard let it go for now, but he knew that it would be brought up at a later point. After about two miles of traveling through town, the group got to the cantina. It was a large, tan-colored building, like most of the other buildings in Mos Eisley, that had an entrance on the side. The group of travelers went inside, in order to find their much-needed pilot. The cantina was dark, and filled with a great variation of aliens from across the galaxy. The group went up to the counter to talk to the bartender, who ordered Threepio and Artoo to wait outside, due to some prejudice against droids. While Gandalf looked around at the melting pot of different creatures, Obi-Wan looked around for someone that could help them get off of Tatooine.

" _Remember_ ," Gandalf thought, as he looked at the strange language on what appeared to be the menu. " _Do not stare._ "

As the two old men went about their business. Luke was grabbed by a hulking, hideous-looking blue creature with an even more hideous mouth. That creature and another awkward-looking man, who seemed to have a nose that looked like that of a hog's, threatened the nervous Luke, who was knocked across the room into an empty table when Obi-Wan tried to interject. With quick grace, Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber and cut off the arm of the large blue beast, who screamed in pain as he ran out of the bar. With ease, Obi-Wan shut off the sword and placed it back onto his utility belt. Gandalf, who had been holding back the hog-nosed man, looked at the old Jedi in awe.

"You have one, as well?" Gandalf asked, with a stunned expression. The creature he was holding back ran out of the cantina, yelling.

"Yes," answered Obi-Wan, quietly. "I've had it for years. Try to pay it no mind, for now."

Luke was able to stand after the short skirmish, and looked at the two old men, seeing the tougher side in both of them. After the people in the bar went back to their normal routine of chattering to each other, a tall creature went up to the group. Gandalf thought he was going to attack Luke, like the other two creatures, but he seemed calm, and even a little friendly. He was very large, and had thick, brown hair covering his entire body. Obi-Wan introduced Luke and Gandalf to the creature, who towered above all of them, even Gandalf.

"This is Chewbacca, he's first mate on a ship that might suit our needs," Kenobi claimed. The creature growled happily as he directed the group towards a dark corner of the bar, where a lone, hardy figure sat.

"Who might we have here?" Gandalf asked, looking at the brown-haired man. The man responded to the wizard with a tough voice, and a grin.

"Han Solo."


	4. Flight of the Falcon

**Reborn: Flight of the Falcon**

In the dark corner of the cantina, Gandalf, Obi-Wan, and young Luke sat at a table opposite the shady Han Solo and his first mate, Chewbacca. To Gandalf, the pair seemed extremely untrustworthy, though they were just another pair of smugglers willing to make some good money to Luke and Obi-Wan. Solo, who to Gandalf came off as a little uncouth and arrogant, had a head of wavy, brown hair and a white shirt on, which was covered by a black vest. A scar lay across the chin of the scoundrel known as Solo, one that seemed to have been there for many years. Gandalf knew many, many men like Han Solo, men that were always in the league of troublemakers, but had potential to be much more. The scoundrel spoke with a sort of wise-cracking swagger, a kind of arrogance that made him come off as someone who thought that he could easily tackle any situation with little effort, which, of course, was yet to be seen by the two old souls and the young Skywalker. Han, surveying the group quickly, decided to open up to them a bit about who he was, and how he handled things. The group could tell that the scoundrel wasn't the most trusting of individuals, but once Han got a good look at everyone, he realized that he was in a trustworthy company.

"I'm captain of the _Millennium Falcon_ ," Solo claimed, as he made a slight nod over to his hairy counterpart. "Chewie here tells me you're lookin' for passage to the Alderaan system."

"Yes, indeed, if it's a fast ship," Obi-Wan noted. To Han, this nearly felt like an insult. He was proud of what he had, and the things that he'd been doing with his pal, Chewie, over the years.

"Fast ship?" retorted Solo, with his hands on the table separating the two distinct parties. "You've never heard of the _Millennium Falcon_?"

Luke rolled his eyes at the rogue, while Gandalf looked to be a bit agitated, as well.

"Well, should we have?" Gandalf asked, in response. The old wizard knew that the man was cocky, and was willing to expose that trait.

"It's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs," claimed the smuggler. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes, knowing that the gruff man didn't understand what a parsec actually was. "I've outrun Imperial starships, not the local bulk-cruisers, mind ya. I'm talkin' about those big Corellian ones, now. She's fast enough for you, old man. What's the cargo?"

Obi-Wan and Luke looked at Solo with disbelief, along with Gandalf, who thought that the mercenary was just babbling on about how good his transport was. He thought that Han was doing this just so he could make a good impression on the group, though the wizard tried to pay it no mind, and remained as calm as ever, wishing he could have just a few good smokes from a pipe, again, like he did with his old friend, Bilbo. Obi-Wan briefly looked around the group, remembering the two droids that were waiting outside.

"Only passengers," the former Jedi answered. "Myself, my friend Gandalf, here, the boy, two droids, and no questions asked."

Han liked the old man's answer, knowing that the group weren't the most insignificant people in that bar on that day, no doubt because of the fight that Luke unintentionally started. He responded to the statement with a small smirk, wanting just a little more information. "What is it? Some kinda local trouble?"

"It's safe to say that we don't want to be entangled with Imperial forces," noted Gandalf, who acted as if he knew how this world ran for many years. Han Solo looked at the old wizard as if he were correcting that statement.

"Well, that's the real trick, isn't it, old timer?" he asked, rhetorically, as he sat back a little. "And it's gonna cost you something extra."

"Well, how much?" responded Luke, hoping that it wouldn't end up being too large of a cost.

"Ten thousand, all in advance," Solo stated. Obi-Wan began to figure out a good bargaining price, while Luke was shocked by what Solo had said.

"Ten thousand?" asked Luke, in disbelief. "We could almost buy our own ship for that!"

Solo looked at the young man, as if he were a bit untalented.

"And who's gonna fly it, kid? You?" laughed the smuggler with a grin. At this Luke became both angry and a bit arrogant, wanting to leave the presence of Solo, quickly.

"You bet I could! I'm not such a bad pilot myself," Luke claimed as he got ready to stand up, looking for some support from Obi-Wan and Gandalf. "I don't have to sit here and listen…"

A nod from Obi-Wan cut the boy's protest off, obviously motioning for him to remain calm. The old, former Jedi began to haggle with Han, who needed to know how they were going to pay. It was at this point that Gandalf felt another presence that was protruding from Obi-Wan, albeit a minuscule one.

"We haven't that much with us, but we could pay you two thousand now, and fifteen when we reach Alderaan," Obi-Wan proposed. Gandalf was surprised by the old man's bargaining skills, even if he was in control of the situation, a bit. Luke, however, looked at Obi-Wan like he was crazy. Han's eyes widened a bit, realizing the opportunity that this job had turned into.

"Seventeen, huh?" Solo responded, in thought. He pondered the bargain that had been placed before him, and finally came to a conclusion. "Okay you guys got yourselves a ship. We'll leave as soon as you're ready. Docking Bay Ninety-Four."

"Ninety-Four," repeated Gandalf and Obi-Wan as the nodded back to Han, who looked as if he were obviously excited, but then looked over the heads of the group members, noticing a squad of four stormtroopers that were investigating what happened during the scuffle that happened earlier in the bar. The bartender pointed towards Han's table, but by the time the stormtroopers arrived there, the group had left the cantina. Han nodded to the troopers as though nothing had happened here, and the troops moved on. The excitement that Solo had felt earlier had begun to re-appear in his voice, as he began to collect his things and check what he had for the tab.

"Seventeen thousand! These guys must really be desperate." Solo said to Chewie, with joy. "This could really save my neck. Get back to the ship, and get her ready."

Chewbacca smiled and growled back to Han in both happiness and agreement as he left the bar. After Han had collected everything he needed, the smuggler stood up from the booth and began to take his leave, but not before he saw a familiar face and felt the cold, hard muzzle of a blaster pistol against his chest. Close in front of Han stood a scaly, green Rodian called Greedo, who looked at the smuggler vengefully, while the Corellian smuggler tried to improvise. Greedo was a bounty hunter and a gangster who worked for Jabba the Hutt, and was an old rival of Han's for many years. The Rodian spoke to Han in the Huttese language, a foreign tongue from the usual Galactic Basic, but still one that was widely used on Tatooine and many other systems.

 _ **(Author's Note – Greedo's Huttese dialogue will be written first, followed by narration and the English/Galactic Basic translation. Why use the language? Because it's authentic. Why put this scene in here? To prove a point. See the note after this scene is over.)**_

" _Oonta goota, Solo_?" Greedo sarcastically asked. "Going somewhere, Solo?"

"Yes, Greedo, as a matter of fact, I was just going to see your boss," Han explained, as he was forced by Greedo back to the booth by the table. Solo sat down again, trying to think of a way to get out of the situation. He thought quickly to himself as he looked at Greedo. " _This guy's been out for me for a while. Greedo, just know that you had it coming_."

" _Somepeetchalay. Vara trahm ne tach vakee cheetha. Jabba wanin cheeco-wa rush anye katanye wanaruska, heh heh heh. Chas kin yanee ke chusoo_ ," laughed Greedo, who looked eager to shoot the smuggler dead. "It's too late. You should've paid him when you had the chance. Jabba's put a price on your head so large, that every bounty hunter in the galaxy will be looking for you. I'm lucky I found you first."

"Yeah but this time, I've got the money," Han calmly claimed, sitting back in the booth, comfortably. The smuggler continued to think about the situation, knowing that they always end with him talking or shooting his way out of things, and he wanted to continue that working tradition.

" _Enjaya kul a intekun kuthuow_ ," responded Greedo, willing to strike a deal. "If you give it to me, I might forget I found you."

At this point, Han had to stall. He kept finding a way to cool Greedo down, so that he might catch the Rodian off guard, in order to take him out. Han put his hand up to the wall behind him, scratching it with a finger against it in thought.

"I don't have it with me!" Han tried to explain, looking back at his hand and then again to Greedo. "Tell Jabba –"

" _Tens hikikne. Hoko ruya pulyana oolwan spa steeka gush shuku ponoma three pe_ ," interrupted Greedo, while Han slowly released the bindings to his pistol holster, with great caution. Greedo spoke a little more fiercely this time, thinking that he caught Solo red-handed. "Jabba's through with you. He has no time for smugglers who drop their shipments at the first sign of an Imperial cruiser."

"Even I get boarded sometimes," Solo rebutted, as he gripped his trusty DL-44 heavy blaster pistol. He lifted the blaster from the holster and positioned it just at the right spot to get a proper shot off at Greedo, who sat against the wall across from Han, growing even tenser as the conversation went on. "Do you think I had a choice?"

" _Tlok Jabba. Boopa goompah-kne et an anpaw_ ," said Greedo, who was eager to see what his boss thought of the situation. "You can tell that to Jabba. He may only take your ship."

Han now had his hand back down at his side, hoping to find a good chance where he could shoot the gangster, like he was planning to. He was not a smuggler to be trifled with. Han Solo was known throughout the galaxy as a rough-and-tumble rogue that walked his own path – a path that was as consistent as it was brutal. What Greedo had just said was not a part of his plan, however, and it got Solo even more agitated. "Over my dead body."

" _Ukle nyuma. cheskopokuta klees ka tlanko... ya oska_ ," Greedo laughed, as he looked at Han like he was nothing. "That's the idea. I've been looking forward to this for a long time."

"Yes, I'll bet you have," Han said, with a cunning arrogance. Han then fired his gun with a swiftness that not even Greedo could beat. A cloud of smoke came from the blast as the loudness of the gunfire caught the attention of everyone in the cantina. The shot hit the Rodian near his stomach, killing him almost instantly. Greedo, who was never even able to get a shot off before his quick death, fell to the surface of the table in front of Han, with the head of his dead body hitting the hard wood straight on. As the quiet banter of the different aliens in the bar gradually grew, Solo got up and walked over to the bartender, handing him the tip. "Sorry about the mess."

With a nod, the smuggler left the cantina unscathed.

 _ **(Author's Note – The point here is that Han shot first, and that isn't going to change for me.)**_

Luke, Gandalf, and Obi-Wan met up with See Threepio and Artoo Deetoo outside the cantina, and they headed off to Docking Bay 94, on the other side of Mos Eisley. Along the way, Luke came to an old Toydarian's vending shop, hoping to sell his speeder for a good price. The bazaar around him was filled with food stands, junk traders, and weapon vendors, and the shop that was closest to Luke was the one he'd try to make a bargain with. The grumpy old Toydarian that owned the little shop flew up to Luke, ready to see what kind of exchange would play out during this encounter. The winged creature talked with a slurred, but knowledgeable dialect of Galactic Basic, in which he had used for many years.

"Oh, hello there! I give you welcome to my shop!" the creature shouted. "Now what you wanna buy, eh? Some parts? New cylinders? A racer? We got everything, here!"

"Actually, I'd like to sell this speeder, here," said Luke to the alien as he revealed his old transport vessel. "How much do you think I can get for this?"

The grey alien flew around the small, red, speeder with a finger on his chin, surveying it.

"Old X-34, eh? Haven't seen one of these in a while. Where you buy this?" the alien asked.

"I got her at an old junk shop up in Anchorhead. She's got really nice repulsors, and her engine's been modified," Luke stated. This angered the Toydarian a bit, and he looked at Luke, grumpily, as he flew up to the young man's face.

"Modified?! You can't-a come in here with your modified speeder and try to get a good bargain outta my mouth! Who you think I am, eh?" the creature yelled. "You'd better show old Watto, here, that the speeder's worth something, or else I go call Empire."

Luke, desperate to get something out of the speeder, was eventually able to sell it for a mere two thousand credits, though the old Toydarian still disliked the trade. To the Docking Bay the party went, and as they passed multiple battalions of menacing stormtroopers, the large building that was their destination came into view. Gandalf became more and more weary of the stormtroopers' presence as the group walked on, knowing that the droids walking behind him were sought after by the terrible Empire. Chewie approached the group, motioning for them to follow him into the Docking Bay. As the group followed Chewie's request, they saw a giant slug slither away from Han into a ship, followed by a few guards and scoundrels, including the notorious Boba Fett. Han, looking agitated for some reason, collected himself as he walked up a gang plank into his ship, which was a large freighter with multiple different parts of space junk attached to it. Gandalf looked up at the vessel, never seeing anything so strange in his life, while Luke, on the other hand, looked up at the ship with both disbelief and contempt.

"What a piece of junk!" Luke claimed. Gandalf looked at the young man, strangely, as he didn't know the standard of transportation in the galaxy.

"Compared to what?" asked the wizard, as Luke assessed the ship's features quickly.

"Well, just look at it! It looks beaten to a pulp and worn beyond repair," explained Luke, as Han came out of the ship to talk to the group and try to justify the hardiness of his greatest possession. "I'm not sure if this thing can even start up properly without the engines blowing themselves to bits from exhaustion."

"She'll make point five past lightspeed. She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid," Solo explained, with swagger. Luke scratched his head, wondering how exactly a worn out ship such as this could ever even reach lightspeed without breaking down. "I've added some special modifications, myself."

Chewbacca rushed up the ramp of the freighter, urging his captain and the others to come aboard. Han looked back at the creature, nodding in agreement. The smuggler looked back at the group and began to speak to them in a bossy, yet business-like tone.

"We're a little rushed, but if you'll just hurry aboard, we'll get out of here."

The grinning Han Solo walked beside the gang plank, motioning for the passengers to walk onto the ship, to which they did. As they walked on board, Threepio greeted Solo, ever the good servant. The group walked into the ship, which had many different devices, modules, and rooms placed throughout it. Gandalf was easily baffled by how strange the environment was, and was unwilling to touch any of these awkward instruments that surrounded him. Outside the ship, Han checked to see if the coast was clear to start up the ship, but then heard something that he simply didn't want to hear: the loud voice of a stormtrooper, giving orders through his helmet. A large squad of the Imperial grunts came into the docking bay, ready to shoot down the vessel. Han, not understanding why stormtroopers were after him, quickly yelled for Chewie to start up the ship, which the creature did. The commanding trooper ordered for the squad to fire upon the ship, while Han quickly returned the fire with his trusty DH-17. Hanging on to the ship for dear life as it took off, Han stood on the gang plank of the ship, firing back at the armor-clad, grounded troopers. When the coast was clear, the smuggler ran on board and hit the switch that brought in the gang plank. The others in the group were all strapped in safely for takeoff, with Gandalf looking the most uneasy.

"Chewie, get us outta here!" shouted Han, as he looked to Gandalf. "Don't go dyin' on me, old man, this place smells bad enough, as it is! The rest of you, try to keep yourselves occupied. Welcome aboard the _Falcon_."

The smuggler sprinted to the cockpit, and began typing in the coordinates of their destination as the ship sped off into the cold reaches of space, where the galaxy stretched on and on, waiting to be revealed to Luke and Gandalf. The young man and the old wizard, although being two different individuals, were just beginning to experience something entirely new alongside one another: a wealth of adventure that could only be found in the rest of the galaxy, far, far away.


	5. A Dark Omen

**Reborn: A Dark Omen**

Everyone was seated and secure in the cockpit of the ship when the _Falcon_ departed from Docking Bay 94, and when the Corellian freighter left the atmosphere, it was met by an Imperial cruiser ready to take the ship down, as was ordered, and it began its attempts to do so by firing upon the ship. Patiently, Han awaited for the coordinates to be calculated on his navicomputer so that the ship could make the jump to lightspeed, a phenomenon the likes of which Gandalf and Luke had never seen before. This process took a little time however, and Han explained how it was done the best.

"You've gotta be precise when you map out your route, or you just might find yourself flying right into a star or a planet or anything of that sort. Trust me, it ain't easy. Luckily, when it comes to lightspeed, the _Falcon_ is one of the best there is, just watch." The cruiser shot at the battered pirate ship, giving everyone except the pilots the feeling that they would be obliterated in seconds, while on the other hand, Han and Chewie attempted to maneuver the _Falcon_ to the best of their ability out of the way of the blaster fire coming from the Imperial cruiser, though it was necessary to keep the ship as still as possible when jumping to hyperspace, which meant that the cruiser was able to successfully hit the _Falcon_ a few times. At this point, Han's ship was losing its deflector shield and losing it fast, and just before the lone Imperial ship was able to strike the final blow on the shield, the lightspeed coordinates came online on the navicomputer's glowing interface. Of course, all of this technical lingo was all but unknown to Gandalf, who barely had any understanding of what was going on, since the technology of Middle-Earth was primitive compared to the machinery and scientific achievements that were prevalent in the galaxy.

"Punch it, Chewie!" Solo shouted as his Wookiee co-pilot quickly pulled back a lever on the starship's control board. It was then that the _Falcon_ 's hyperdrive roared to live in a glorious crescendo, while the ship's speed grew faster by the millisecond. The stars outside the ship grew to look like tiny, blue streaks in the void as the ship rocketed forward, blasting off into one of the convenient intergalactic highways known simply as hyperspace. The passengers aboard the ship bucked their head during this process, with Gandalf feeling like it was the most magnificent experience of his life, nearly. The hyperlane that the Corellian ship had just entered bore a strange-looking, blueish-purple hue, which was the standard for hyperspace. The crew and the passengers all exited the cockpit after Solo put the ship on auto-pilot, settling down from the adrenaline rush in the ship's lounge area situated in its center. There, Threepio and Artoo were residing during the escape from Tatooine, being just as stunned from the experience as the rest were. The crew and passengers went about the next few hours normally, with Artoo and Chewie playing a chess-like game Dejarik, Han checking the progress through hyperspace periodically, Obi-Wan talking to Luke and Gandalf about the Force, explaining more how it worked, and teaching the former a few useful lightsaber techniques with a blaster remote. The boy, however, was restless and too unfocused. He was missing all the shots he was supposed to deflect.

"Looks like that thing ain't workin' so good for you huh, kid?" the smuggler laughed with rhetoric in his voice. Luke, a little annoyed, looked over to Han with a grimace, which made him laugh even harder. Han wasn't always crude, but he was when he wanted to be. In fact, he was just about anything when he wanted to be, and not exactly in a free-spirited way, but more along the lines of a lone-wanderer way. He cared about nothing but money, himself, the _Falcon_ , and Chewie. The Wookiee was his only family, and if anybody ever hurt that towering hairy brute, they would most definitely witness the full wrath of the scoundrel known as Han Solo. He was sort of an underground celebrity, really, and so was his ship, which made it even stranger that none of the passengers had ever heard about him. Celebrity or not, Solo almost always put himself on a pedestal, an action that reflected upon his demeanor.

"Well why don't you give it a try then, if you're so observant," Skywalker retorted, sending Han into a more criticizing nature.

"Not a chance. Those things are nothing compared to a good blaster," the scoundrel remarked, which gave Obi-Wan an annoyed look.

"Oh, please, those guns are all but uncivilized hindrances," the old Jedi said. "I can tell you this, a lightsaber has saved my skin more times than a blaster ever has. Luke, when you deflect the blaster fire, try not to use your eyes. They can deceive you. Use that blast shield, over there."

Kenobi pointed over to a red-and-white helmet setting on a counter-top in a corner of the room, and Luke obeyed him, grabbing the blast shield reluctantly. Obi-Wan, on the other hand, leaned over to Gandalf, who was seated next to him.

"After Luke, I think it might be best to have you try," said the old man. This startled Gandalf a bit, as he was surely too old for that kind of exercise.

"You want _me_?" Gandalf laughed as he pointed to himself, while Old Ben nodded. "I can't possibly –"

"Gandalf, _I_ still carry one with me. If I can use one, you can. Come on, let's show the younger ones how it's done," Obi-Wan jokingly interrupted, hoping that the old wizard beside him would play along for a laugh, which he did. After Luke was able to deflect the blaster fire on Kenobi's terms with his new saber, Gandalf decided to give it a try with Obi-Wan's lightsaber, which he happily lent to the wizard, who grabbed the long handle with his dominant right hand and moved over to the center of the room.

"I'll just… pretend that it's Glamdring," the wizard mentioned as Luke and Old Ben looked on with confusion, but paid it no mind. Gandalf remembered that old sword, which reminded him of when he took down Durin's Bane, the great Balrog that had pulled him down through the depths of Moria. Deflecting the blaster fire was a whole other animal, however, because Gandalf had to be quick and agile, something that might be hard for an old soul such as him, but the wizard remembered something: he was a Maiar, an unending spirit that worked beyond the physical form. Whether this gave him strength in thus reality or not, he had to try to tap into thus power. Obviously, this gave Gandalf a stronger hold on the Force, which could be used to his advantage. Luke looked over to the wizard with the blast shield helmet in hand, motioning for Gandalf to possibly take it.

"Do you need the blast shield?" the boy asked, though Gandalf shook his head in the negative manner, wanting to do this deed by himself. He grasped the handle with his off-hand, viewing the spherical blaster remote that floated mid-air before him. As the wizard pressed the button that started up the lightsaber, the cobalt-blue blade protruded from the silver-and-yellow, metallic handle, jolting the weapon to life. The hum coming from the saber gave the environment a sense of power, focusing the wizard on the field of vision alone in front of him.

" _Trust your senses, Olórin,_ " a voice in Gandalf's head instructed. ' _And trust in the Force._ "

As the voice said this, Gandalf had closed his eyes and took a calm, deep inhale, releasing any stray thoughts that would otherwise distract him.

"The Force..." he whispered. When he opened his eyes, Gandalf was greeted by three distinct _pew_ -sounds, which were the standard sounds of a blaster. At the same time, three red blaster bolts were fired from the floating metal ball. It was then that Gandalf had to act. One went to his left, the other to his right, and the third towards the bottom of his body. With three swift strokes, Gandalf moved the lightsaber to those positions, deflecting each bolt of blaster fire with precision and grace. Suddenly, two more emerged quickly from the remote, one headed for the wizard's head, and the other aimed at his right shoulder, but yet again, Gandalf beat the ball at its own game. Finally, a single blaster bolt was fired upon the old wizard's stomach, but just as soon as it was fired, Gandalf positioned the blue lightsaber in a horizontal manner parallel to his torso, thus deflecting the final bolt from the blaster remote. Obi-Wan, with a sheer expression of honest shock-and-awe, stood up to confront Gandalf the White.

"Gandalf… how did you do that?" whispered the Jedi.

"I just accomplished what you've been instructing Luke to do," he admitted as he looked over to where Luke was. "Trust in the Force. You've done well so far, but there's still much for you to learn, just as Obi-Wan says."

Luke hanged his head in agreement, which was noble and wise to do. Luke hadn't known Gandalf for that long, but he did recognize that the wizard had been through a lot, and held a great amount of wisdom, however unorthodox the surroundings were to him at that point. Young Skywalker, like Kenobi, was perplexed to see Gandalf carry out the act of deflecting the blaster bolts so gracefully and clean. Even Han had something to be a wide-eyed about for a moment, but then passed it off almost immediately.

"I know, I know, it's just that I've been on edge a little, lately. What with my aunt and uncle, and my–"

"That shouldn't interrupt the potential that's within you, though," Obi-Wan said before the boy could finish. "You need to train yourself to let _go_ , and don't think I'm not sympathizing with you Luke, because I am. When I was younger, I fell in love with a girl named Satine. She was the Duchess of Mandalore, now have you heard of Mandalore before?"

"Y-yes, I have," the boy answered.

"Good, then you most likely know how strong the culture is, there. Now, I knew Satine since I was around your age, at a time when I was instructed to protect her, and when I fell in love with her, she returned the feeling. Luke, I loved her so much that I told her I would leave the _Order_ for her. She was truly the light of my life, but she was taken from me... killed by an enemy of mine in the Clone Wars. She died in my arms, and your father was there for me when it happened. Trust me, Luke, when I say that he and one other have caused me more pain in my life than you will ever experience in yours. They've taken my lover, taken my master, and most of all, taken my friend. I don't mean these things as a misjudgment of your case, Luke, for I'm very sorry for your loss. I mean them as a lesson, and as the truth."

"Wh… what happened to him, the man who killed her? Is he still out there?" Luke responded, trying not to tear up. Obi-Wan, reluctant to answer initially, gave the boy the best response he could.

"No, he… died. I killed him when I was trying to protect someone… someone I love," the old man said as Gandalf laid a hand on his shoulder.

"I can sympathize, as well. I've lost many friends over the course of my life, and they would not want their absence to cause hindrances for us today."

"Yes, we have to move on, son. Let the Force hold no bars, reach out to it with all of your concentration, and it will guide you to great lengths," explained the old Jedi.

"Oh, Karabast! All that sword-garbage was just luck, for the both of you. If you think that it's that mystical mumbo-jumbo that fueled your success, you've gotta be kidding yourself," Han said as he ate an exotic fruit while relaxing his feet on the navicomputer's dashboard. Luke gave him a look of great disagreement, not understanding the way the smuggler's mind worked.

"Why don't you believe in it?" the boy asked with a naïve tone.

"Because I don't _need_ to, kid!" Han scowled. "Besides, I've never seen anything to convince me that it's real, and even if it is, what's something like that gonna do for me, anyways? As you can see, me and Chewie have pretty much got it made, here. I've said it a thousand times to just about everyone who's tried to lecture me about it before, and I'll say it again: your hokey religions and your ancient weapons are _nothing_ compared to a good blaster at your side."

As Han pointed out his skepticism, Obi-Wan gave a distressed, yet saddened look, sitting himself back down. Gandalf and Luke both looked at him like something was wrong, and rushed to his side as soon as he sat down.

"Ben, what's wrong?" Luke asked in emergency. Gandalf looked at Han, who was finishing off his fruit, with a scorn and the back to Obi-Wan with speculation.

"It surely wasn't –"

"No, no it wasn't him," the old man interrupted, deep in thought. "I've just felt a… a rift in the Force. Something terrible has happened. It felt as if… as if a thousand souls were screaming out all at once, and then were suddenly silenced."

Gandalf too, felt a cold chill down his spine, as if someone had performed a terrible attack. He felt this same way when Osgiliath and Dale had been destroyed, and when the dragon Smaug swooped down on the people of Lake-town, destroying the city, except this felt as if it were on a much grander scale.

"I sense it, as well. Lives have been lost on this day, I can feel it," proclaimed Gandalf, while Solo got up from his relaxed position and walked towards the cockpit.

"Hopeless," he said as he threw the freshly-eaten fruit in a trash bin just outside the door. He shouted out to the passengers and co-pilot to return to the cockpit. "Come on, you bunch of moof-milkers, we're approaching Alderaan!"

At the scoundrel's orders, everyone except the two droids filed back into the cockpit of the _Falcon_ , taking their seats. As the starship left hyperspace, the view outside of the cockpit windows was near-completely black, with the spots of distant stars glittering the darkness, making Solo a little uneasy.

"Well, that's not good. Chewie, check the coordinates. I wanna make sure we're in the right place," as he said this, the Wookiee pulled up some travel data on the screen in front of him, growling with some apparent information to his captain. "Definitely not good."

"What's not good?" asked Skywalker immediately. "Where's Alderaan?"

"That's the problem, kid, there isn't an 'Alderaan'," explained the pilot as the ship passed by a large asteroid field, to Luke's confusion. "At least, not anymore. It's been completely blown to bits."

"Wait, what? How, they'd have to have a whole fleet to do that," responded the confused Luke. "And even if they came, they'd have to –"

"Wait, wait… incoming Imperial TIE Fighter from the rear. Track it, Chewie. Let's see where it's goin'," Han ordered as the H-shaped fighter ship flew above and passed them. This shipped looked strange to Gandalf, as most things had, at this point. Luke pointed out something in the distance, something that might help figure out where the Imperial ship was headed.

"Look, I think it's heading towards that small moon out there, can you see it?" Luke directed to Han as he pointed, and just as he had witnessed, a small grey sphere began to loom in the distance, looking larger as the _Falcon_ continued to move closer to it. Obi-Wan looked on with a knowing expression, realizing what it was that awaited them as they followed the TIE Fighter.

"That's no moon," he said, looking forward, grimly. "It's a space station."


	6. In the Belly of the Beast

**Reborn: In the Belly of the Beast**

As the _Falcon_ followed the TIE Fighter, Captain Solo was beginning to lose more and more control of the ship. It wasn't moving in any other direction but straight, heading directly towards the hanger bay of the massive space station in front of them. Chewie, trying to figure out the problem, confirmed Han's worst fears. The smuggler started having a mental stroke when he thought what might happen to his ship.

"No, no, no! Those bastards can't do this to me! This is my ship!" Han shouted as he jerked the flight controls in different directions, while Chewie tried to ease him.

"Wait, WAIT! What's going on?" Luke shouted, as he stood behind Han's seat, nervously.

"We're caught in a tractor beam, kid. They're pullin' us in!" answered the smuggler quickly. He tinkered with the control board and tried to break free of the space station's grasp, but to no effect. Gandalf was confused by all the technical remarks Han, Chewie, and even Luke were spewing out. As far as he knew, this was turning out to be the strangest day of his life, even by his standards. Obi-Wan, knowing that the wizard knew nothing of what the men were talking about, tried to clear things up.

"It means he can't move the ship," explained the old Jedi. Gandalf looked at the giant grey sphere in front of them with both fear and bewilderment.

"That might be the largest thing I've ever seen in my life," the wizard claimed. Han looked behind him to Gandalf quickly after he said this.

"Yeah, well, it might be the last thing you'll ever see in your life, too," speculated Solo. "Get ready for some trouble."

Just as Gandalf had said, the space station was huge, and it looked as if it were getting larger as the _Falcon_ came closer.

"Alright, what's the plan now?" Luke asked as he tried to sound like he had a grip on the situation. Han wasn't impressed. "Maybe we should–"

"No offense, kid, but we're getting outta here on my terms. I know what's best for my ship, and I'm not gonna have anyone screwing her over," claimed Han. "Now we're gonna have to find a way to take down that tractor beam, and we'll have to look the part to get there. When we land, we've gotta hide."

The Corellian freighter was finally drawn into the station's shield barrier into its hanger bay behind the lone TIE Fighter. That made the group realize that this station was the work of the Empire, which was a cruel way for them to assert their power in the galaxy. The hanger bay was massive, and many stormtroopers patrolled the area, most likely surveying the holdup of the ships that entered. Just before the ship was pulled to the ground by several docking ports, Han led everyone to a few secret smuggling compartments in a hallway near the entry ramp. The spaces in the floor were small, but were still big enough to hold a few full-sized humans, creatures, and the like. Han, Luke, and Chewie all took one, while Gandalf and Obi-Wan shared a compartment. The droids on the other hand were put into the third smuggling space. As the ship finally landed and a scouting patrol came on board, everyone put the faux floorboards over the secret compartments, ducking down into the spaces. The sound of footsteps walking on the ship's floor was heard by all the crew, and when it seemed that the initial patrol had left, everyone took off the faux floorboards and awaited for the next patrol to come aboard.

"This is ridiculous," Han whispered. "These are for cargo, not living things. I have a hard time thinking that we can all get to the tractor beam without getting caught or killed."

"We could handle that," Gandalf volunteered, looking to Obi-Wan for agreement. Han rolled his eyes as he pulled himself up onto the ship's floor from down below, with everyone else doing the same.

"You _had_ to say that, didn't you?" the smuggler rhetorically asked as Chewie growled and popped his head from the compartment. The large figure was petted by Han as he too pulled himself up. "Bunch o' damned fools."

"Who's the more foolish, the fool or the fool that follows him?" retorted Obi-Wan, getting a look of agreement out of the wizard.

"Hmm… poignant," laughed Gandalf as the droids were taken out of their compartment. Suddenly, a pair of two Imperial engineers brought a large scanning device up the _Falcon's_ entry ramp. Once the two were on the ship, Chewie bashed their heads in, rendering them floor bound and unconscious, while the scanning device dropped and broke, giving out a loud, crashing noise. Luke looked to Han in hopes of knowing the next step of the plan, but the scoundrel was stumped and suddenly deep in thought. He then came to his senses.

"Hey down there!" Solo called out. Two stormtroopers peaked their heads around to the entry ramp, but saw nothing.

"We need a little help with this thing!" added Luke. The two troopers, clad in regular Imperial stormtrooper gear, walked up the ramp and into the ship's entrance hallway. Han shot both of them dead as they made contact with the crew, giving them an opportunity to use the stormtrooper armor to their advantage. Gandalf looked on with confusion.

"Surely I can't fit into one of those!" the wizard with doubt. The outfits were far too small for him. Han laughed at the statement with his usual arrogance.

"You're not going to fit into one of them, Gramps," Han said, patting Gandalf's arm as he pointed to an outfit for Luke to put on. "And don't call me Shirley."

It was decided that Luke and Han would wear the uniforms and carry the standard issue E-11 blaster rifles that the troopers were using, while Chewie, Obi-Wan, and Gandalf would tread behind them as prisoners, alongside the droids. While everyone else walked off the ship, Luke finished putting on the armor, and when he put the faceless helmet over his head, he heard a voice coming from the comms unit.

" _TK-421, what's your status?_ " the voice asked as Luke walked down the entry ramp. " _TK-421, do you read me?_ "

As Luke walked off the ship, he saw an officer looking down at him from the command room. The young man waved to the Imperial officer, who backed away from the window. By the time Luke had caught up with the others, they had already broken into the command center, killing the two officials. The room bore a mixture of red, black, and grey on the walls, while the large command module nearly encircled the entire room along the walls. The young Skywalker hurried into the room, taking his helmet off and shutting the blast doors behind him.

"You know, we're gonna be in a whole lot of trouble if you keep shooting on sight like that," Luke said with an annoyed tone towards Han. "We're lucky the whole station isn't on alert right now."

"It's better than sneaking around like a bunch of cowards," retorted Solo.

"Alright, settle down. Plug Artoo into the outlet," Obi-Wan advised to C-3PO. "He should be able to access all the information on record here."

When Threepio and Artoo moved over to the command module, the little blue droid plugged himself in through a little grey connecter that came out of him.

"How strange those little things are," Gandalf said, while Artoo beeped back in annoyance. Threepio wacked his dome-shaped head with his golden hand.

"Don't be so rude!" the tall droid ordered. Artoo beeped and whistled to Threepio, who interpreted his speech patterns. "He's found the main controls to the tractor beam. They're coming up onto the monitors now."

On the multiple screens of the massive computer, several images of green schematics and text flashed, while Threepio elaborated on what was being shown.

"The main reactor feeds into the tractor beam through seven terminals," the golden droid explained. "If one of them is powered down, we'll be free to leave the station."

Obi-Wan looked to the plans and then to a blast door that led down a different hallway. Something in him gave him the urge to do what was necessary.

"This is above you, I'll handle it," the old man claimed as he stood from his partially seated position. He looked over to Gandalf, motioning for him to follow. "You volunteered earlier, so you're with me. Let's go."

The wizard stood and followed Obi-Wan towards the door. Luke met them in protest, not wanting to see his mentor leave.

"Hey wait, I want to go!" the boy pleaded. Obi-Wan stopped him right there.

"No, Luke, We have matters of our own to face here. You have matters of yours," explained Kenobi as he laid a hand on Luke's shoulder. "Stay here and keep the droids safe. The plans on that little one are crucial to the Rebellion."

Han looked at the droids with a sarcastic sense of hope while he rolled his eyes.

"Just remember, the Force will be with you… always," Obi-Wan said as the blast door opened. He walked through it, while Gandalf gave Luke a last look of support.

"Trust him, Luke. You're strong, I can feel it," said he as he looked forward. "Be safe."

The wizard walked through the blast door behind Obi-Wan. The two figures treaded alongside one another at a fast pace down the long, snaking grey hallway. The walls were covered with machinery and white lights that were shaped like little vertical lines.

"What do you think of the boy?" Obi-Wan asked, looking over to Gandalf. He spoke quietly, so as not to call attention to others that might be posted nearby.

"He's got a good heart," answered the wizard. "But not all good hearts survive."

"Ah, very true. His is something special, you must feel that," said the Jedi.

"Yes," he admitted. "I do. I've met people like him before. Steadfast, courageous… he reminds me of a hobbit I once knew."

"A hobbit?" Obi-Wan chuckled with confusion. "What's a hobbit?"

"Oh, it's… it's hard to explain," Gandalf said. Even he didn't seem to know everything about those strange little creatures. For a few minutes there was silence as they continued to walk. At several points on the way to the terminal, they carefully evaded groups of stormtroopers patrolling down hallways. Eventually, Obi-Wan had to address something to his newfound friend.

"You don't like Han, do you?" he asked. The wizard tried to cover it up, but it was hard to lie to someone with as much integrity as Obi-Wan.

"I'm not fond of him." The wizard looked through his white robe for a pipe, but nothing was there. He quite missed the old days with his friend Bilbo, where he could sit down and have a smoke without any imminent danger.

"And why shouldn't you be? I've met many like him in my time, and I somewhat agree with you. Always scraping around for more funds and material things," the Jedi elaborated. "There always seems to be a potential goodness in some of them, a goodness that they don't credit themselves in. It's as if they have a great role to play, though they don't accept it… but you've already seen that in someone before, haven't you?"

Gandalf immediately slowed his pace. His face looked surprised, looking over to Obi-Wan in a sort of confusion. The wizard had known a man just like Solo. He was unaccepting, and even stubborn at times. He was a killer that spared no mercy on those who opposed him, but he came to know his place. He was not a scoundrel, nor a wild man: he was a Ranger in the North, a Devil in the Wilderness… a King to Men.

"Aragorn…"

"He was important, wasn't he?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yes, I… how did you know about him?" the wizard asked as he came out of his daze. He felt a soft, observant presence in his mind, one that was not alarming or invasive.

"The Force gives me insight. It enhances the mind, makes it stronger and more flexible. You just have to let it flow through you," advised the Jedi. After walking down a small staircase, they both came to a walkway that laid above a large, bottomless room, bridging the gap between two hallways. "There, look, we've made it."

The Jedi pointed to the cylinder-shaped power terminal that was connected to the walkway, and the small ledge that snaked around it on both sides. Another cylinder-shaped mechanism came down from the ceiling, displaying blue, holographic lights onto the top of the power terminal. Another walkway connected two hallways above them and to the right, while the room expanded on a ways past that. The large space reminded Gandalf of where he faced Durin's Bane, the Balrog of Moria. That latent memory flashed before his eyes, like a soldier's remembrance of haunting war experiences.

" _I am the Servant of the Secret Fire! The dark fire will not avail you, Flame of Udûn!"_

 _The fiery whip of the hell-beast cracked as the creature approached the old wizard, who held his sword and staff in each hand. The demonic creature was engulfed in flames and shadow, looking as if it was the greatest evil imaginable._

" _Go back to the Shadow!"_

 _This warning didn't persuade or affect the creature in any way. It kept moving forward on the bridge. Gandalf the Grey held his instruments of power together, unleashing the forces of light onto the surroundings in front of him._

" _You shall not pass!"_

 _The path that lay between the beings of light and darkness shattered and dispersed, falling into the abyss. The beast stepped into the emptiness, falling into the dark depths alongside the ancient Dwarven architecture._

The rest of the memory played out in a blur, as if something did not wish Gandalf to witness it once more. He could hear voices, however… voices of those whom he had traveled with. He could hear the mourning cries of elves, humans, and other creatures, sounds that tore at his soul. When the memory faded, Obi-Wan looked at him

"That was how you died, wasn't it?" the Jedi assumed. He looked as if he was sharing the wizard's pain, like he was there when Gandalf fell.

"You felt it, as well?" responded Gandalf. The wizard knew the answer, since he could feel the presence of the old Master.

"As I said, the Force gives me insight," answered Obi-Wan as he stroked the scruff of his white beard. "Now come, we mustn't waste any more time."

Gandalf nodded as they approached the ledge that would take them to the control panels. Obi-Wan went first, grabbing the side of the terminal to keep his rugged balance in tune, with Gandalf following close behind. They came to the panels that rested on the opposite side of the terminal from the walkway. To Gandalf, the machinery of the controls looked just as foreign to him as an unknown language. Switches, flashing buttons, levers, tubes, and other devices were attached to the three panels, each of them having their own separate function. Obi-Wan stationed himself at the middle panel, while Gandalf stood before the panel to the right of him. A squad of troopers crossed the elevated walkway further down the room, so the two had to be quiet.

"Alright, Gandalf, do you see the main lever on the panel?" Kenobi asked.

"A _what_?" the wizard responded. He looked throughout the controls, but couldn't see anything that looked the slightest bit familiar to him.

"By the Force, Gandalf, it's right there!" yelled Obi-Wan with a whispered tone, pointing to the metallic switch in the middle of the panel that laid in front of Gandalf. The wizard looked at it with confusion, but placed his hand on the lever nonetheless.

"It's a little cool," Gandalf observed.

"Yes, yes… just pull it down, but don't force it down," instructed Obi-Wan. Gandalf pulled down on the lever, lowering the humming sound of the generator by doing this. "If it were a gundark it would have eaten you."

'I don't understand…"

"Don't worry about it, it's a long story," the Jedi said as he twisted a metal pipe-like tube in the terminal in front of him, lowering the power bar on the center panel's display. Obi-Wan quickly whispered to Gandalf when he heard walking noises coming from the hallway they had entered from.

"I need you to push that lever back up. Please, do it slowly!"

Gandalf pushed the lever back up to its original position quietly as six stormtroopers came into the room, two of which were talking about their orders. The four front stormtroopers made their way across the walkway, while the same two stayed back at the entrance. The wizard looked over to Obi-Wan, whose sweaty face was full of tension as the terminal's power turned completely off.

"Hey, what's that?" one asked as he pointed to the terminal. "Why's it powering off?"

"It's just another test. We need to keep moving. Come on, we missed a hallway back there. That's where they saw the old men. They're too slow to outrun us, let's go," Gandalf heard. The stormtroopers went back through the entrance. "So did you hear about the new BT-16s?"

As the voices faded, Gandalf and Obi-Wan shimmied their way back to the main walkway.

"I feel like they've found something," speculated the Jedi with a hushed voice as they headed through the blast door on the opposite side of where they had entered. What Kenobi had felt was enlightening, as if it were a relief. "Not something, but some _one_."

"You mean Luke and Han?" whispered the wizard, as they looked at a map of the space station outside of the blast door. "I hope they're keeping that command center secure."

"They're not in the command center."

"What?" Gandalf responded in shock. "Why would they ever –"

"Shh!" Kenobi ordered as he pulled out his lightsaber. A squad of stormtroopers ran down a hallway in formation to the right from a corridor to the left. When the troopers left the small intersection of hallways, both of the old souls snuck down the left hallway. Suddenly, Gandalf felt a wave of cold shoot up his spine, a feeling that gave him a sense of dread and terror. The cold loomed over him as if it held complete control over his psyche. Before they went through the blast door, Old Ben looked partially over his shoulder to Gandalf behind him.

"Don't be afraid, my dear friend," he said as he pulled the hood of his brown robe over his head. "The cold only stays if you let it."

Kenobi led them through the blast door to a hallway that opened up into the hangar bay to their left. Across the way, a man of darkness loomed like a ghost, breathing through some sort of apparatus on his body suit. The figure's red lightsaber was ignited at his right side. The sound of Obi-Wan's voice came into Gandalf's mind, the sound of words that he had heard before, but it faded in and out, as if it were out of focus.

" _Vader… seduced… Dark side of the Force…"_

"Vader," mouthed Gandalf. The cold now felt stronger than ever before, seemingly being emitted by him, but there was something in Gandalf that made it feel like it was not a threat. The sheer willpower of the wizard downplayed the darkness, causing it to have no effect on Gandalf's mentality. The old Maiar looked on with straight, unmoving eyes at the terrifying Dark Lord of the Sith, whose mechanical armor and faceless helmet would terrify the strongest of souls. Obi-Wan turned on his lightsaber, the cobalt-blue blade coming to life once the button was pressed.

"My old Master," Vader said with a deep, robotic voice to Kenobi. He then looked straight to Gandalf. "And a friend, I see. Who might you be, another old man poisoned by lies?"

The cold was raging, fighting its way through Gandalf's mind, but it wasn't enough to keep the old wizard from standing firmly in his place. He had done the same with the Balrog, and he would keep doing it now. Corruption could be tempted out of him, but he would not let it. Not now, and not ever. The voice of Ilúvatar flowed through him like a song of Elven beauty, calling to him and giving him strength.

" _Let him know, Olórin. Let him know whom he stands before. Let them ALL know."_

"I am the Servant of the Secret Fire," Gandalf said, strongly. "And your darkness will never avail you."


End file.
